One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
Parallel translations
- WEB One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you.’”
- BSB The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.”
- NKJV One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”
- NASB There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who resides with you.’ ”
- NLT The same instructions and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigners living among you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
One law and one ordinance applied equally to Israelite and resident foreigner. God's standards do not shift based on a person's background.
Overview
This repeated insistence on a single law for all underscores God's consistency and impartiality. It safeguards both justice and the genuine inclusion of outsiders in covenant life. The unity of God's people across ethnic lines finds its fulfillment in the one body of Christ, where the dividing wall is broken down (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 15:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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